Synopsis

The eigth installment of 500 Years of Joseon Dynasty covers the reign of King Sukjong in the late 17th-early 18th Centuries. More than any of Sukjong's own accomplishments, however, his reign was marked by political instability between court factions and particularly well-known for the rivalry between the power-hungry Jang Hee-bin and the kind and virtuous Queen Inhyeon. Jang Hee-bin's scheming and seduction of Sukjong elevated her from the rank of so-ui to hee-bin and finally Queen Consort. Queen Inhyeon, Sukjong's second queen, was deposed, but Sukjong eventually regretted his hasty actions and reinstated her, sentencing Jang Hee-bin to death.